Ayn Rand mainstream thought and innovation

Posted 7 weeks ago by Bear

I don't acknowledge or recognize such a concept as a "mainstream of thought." That might be appropriate to a dictatorship, to a collectivist society in which thought is controlled and in which there exists a collective mainstream -- of slogans, not of thought. There is no such thing in America. There never was. However, I have heard that expression used for the purpose of barring from public communication any innovator, any non-conformist, anyone who has anything original to offer. I am an innovator. This is a term of distinction, a term of honor, rather than something to hide or apologize for. Anyone who has new or valuable ideas to offer stands outside the intellectual status quo. But the status quo is not a stream, let alone a "mainstream." It is a stagnant swamp. It is the innovators who carry mankind forward.

~Ayn Rand, Playboy Interview, 1964

I considered using the blink tag for the line "But the status quo is not a stream, let alone a "mainstream." It is a stagnant swamp."

1 Comments

dave ~ 7 weeks ago

"There is no such thing in America."

She couldn't make that argument today, as the most mainstream thought, the most pervasive Americanism out there "I support the troops, not the war". It's horribly chopped up logic folks spout out in the hopes of seeming like Patriots who are experts at foreign policy.

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